The Sacramento Kings' misery against teams from the Eastern Conference continued Saturday night at the Bradley Center where they were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks , 106-104.
The Kings are 0-17 this season against Eastern teams. This one went right down to the wire.
After four ties earlier in the fourth quarter, a three-point basket by Francisco Garcia gave the Kings a 104-103 lead with 1 minute 24 seconds left. A free throw by Ramon Sessions tied it with 53.3 seconds remaining. Kings guard Beno Udrih, closely guarded by Luke Ridnour, missed a shot and the Bucks took a timeout with 28.9 seconds left.
Bucks forward Richard Jefferson made one free throws with 16.1 seconds left, and Kings center Brad Miller missed a short shot from the paint. But Luc Richard Mbah a Moute could only make one free throw with 3.3 seconds to go. Miller got a good look at a mid-range jumper but missed at the buzzer.
Forward Richard Jefferson led the Bucks with 20 points, while guard Kevin Martin led the Kings with 20. Bucks guard Michael Redd hobbled off the court late in the third quarter, went to the locker room and did not return. Redd suffered a strained left knee and was to receive an MRI today.
The Bucks were again without starting center Andrew Bogut, who missed his sixth straight game due to back spasms. He also missed four games earlier in the season because of the injury. Guard Charlie Bell missed his third straight game because of right ankle soreness.
The Bucks' victory in Sacramento on Jan. 16 began the three-game losing streak that the Kings brought into Saturday's game. In their previous victory over the Kings in Sacramento, the Bucks led by 17 early in the fourth quarter and then had to hold off a furious Kings rally down the stretch.
Skiles reminded the players about that game before they took the court Saturday.
"We had one great quarter (at Sacramento)," said Skiles before Saturday's game. "The rest of the game we kind of made it difficult on ourselves. Not to take away from their comeback, but we had so many silly fouls which kind of busted up the whole rhythm of the game. And they just constantly beat us off the dribble which led to a bunch of threes . . . the fouling and getting beat off the dribble were the two main things we did poorly."
Also, the game at Sacramento was the one in which Skiles made a lineup change, putting Charlie Villanueva into the starting lineup and bringing Mbah a Moute off the bench. Saturday's game was the sixth that the Bucks have used that lineup, but Skiles said that it was still under review.
"We had one great quarter in that game (at Sacramento) with that lineup," said Skiles. "And then we've had one really good game - the Dallas game. Other than that, the Clippers, Portland, and then (Atlanta were not good). We're still not playing up to what we think our ultimate capabilities are. So, we're looking at it and we'll continue to look at it when Andrew gets back and kind of take it from there."
The Bucks got off to a great start in the game at Sacramento but that wasn't the case Saturday as the Kings made their first five shots and jumped out to a 15-9 lead. Beno Udrich and Garcia each sank a three-pointer as the Kings extended their lead to 28-18, but dunks by Redd and Villanueva helped the Bucks cut the lead to 36-33 after one quarter.
The game remained close throughout the third quarter - neither team led by more than five - and the Bucks took an 84-82 lead into the fourth. Jefferson scored nine points in the third quarter.
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